For Julia Jacklin, 'Coming Of Age' Means Learning To Ask For What You Want

When Julia Jacklin came into The Music's Sydney office in September last year, she was bubbling with relief that the ball was finally rolling on the album cycle for her debut LP Don't Let The Kids Win — "I recorded it last year, and I'm releasing it this year and I'll be touring the rest of this year and next year, and then I'll record an album the end of next year or the middle of next year," she'd said, excited at the prospect. She was gentle-mannered, carefully contemplating her answers and expressing honest truths about her fears of failure and acute awareness of the time/success continuum. 

Little did she know how much her life was about to change.

This time around we're chatting in the middle of another massive overseas jaunt, her second go-round the UK, America and Europe, and she's preparing to return home for her biggest Australian headline shows to date. "I'm in Kansas City right now, on tour with Andy Shauf. It's been a really big year for me in terms of travel. [I] feel like I spent 70% of my life looking out the window of a moving vehicle. But it's been pretty amazing to be able to play with great musicians and meet people who are super into the record, from Dallas to Oslo to Munich. Got to play NPR's Tiny Desk Concert in DC, that was pretty crazy for me. I've been watching that for so long. It was kind of on top of my 'dream/probably never going to happen music achievement' list."

"I'm sure from the beginning of time people have looked backwards thinking things were much better then. I guess right now things seem pretty dark moving forward."

Remembering our previous conversation surrounding her literal experience of 'coming of age', riffing off her track of the same name, the question is asked once again - but this time, does she feel that she must separate the two experiences - the growth of Julia Jacklin, the musician, and simply 'Julia'? "I'm not entirely sure to be honest," she shrugs.

"I feel a coming of age moment is happening right this minute for Julia the performer. Just finally understanding touring, understanding what I need on tour and having more of an idea of what it actually means to be a full-time musician. I had no idea even six months ago. I feel finally like I have the confidence to ask for what I want and need without worrying that I'm being too demanding. That took a long time."

Jacklin's music, her video treatments (which are all her own, doubling as director) and general aesthetic revolve heavily around a nostalgia-drenched sentimentality. Recently, she returned to her Blue Mountains hometown of Springwood to shoot Coming Of Age, schoolmates behind the lens and Jacklin and her younger brother in front. "I mean, I think it's just a longing for that time when everything seemed so uncomplicated. For a lot of people that's childhood. I'm sure from the beginning of time people have looked backwards thinking things were much better then. I guess right now things seem pretty dark moving forward.

"I just spent a lot of my youth wanting to get out of the suburbs I guess. I just thought once I got into the city I'd become a much more interesting person. I used to daydream about all these really cool friends I was going to make once I got there and how cool they'd think I was. I like revisiting that feeling in the clips because I think it has informed a lot of what I've done.

"Now I appreciate the quiet of where I grew up because I spend most of my life in cities and venues now."

Does she get recognised when she rolls back into Springwood these days? "I doubt they recognise who I am. Well, actually, my mother works at the local school and she seems to have my publicity covered with the local community, so maybe," she laughs. "I'm less embarrassed than I used to be being in front of the camera. Now I'm like 'Shit, we have one day to do this and only a certain amount of sunlight so just do it and cringe later.'"

With a whirlwind eight months of shows and press coming to a close since the release of the record, Jacklin is looking forward to settling down in an actual house, taking some time and reinvigorating her inspiration. "I've been writing some stuff, trying to write everyday. I just need some time off I think. I don't want to write a record about cars and petrol stations and stage sound issues. Going from someone who just happened to write songs, to someone who now only writes songs and writes songs for a living, is a challenging transition, but I'll figure it out."